Award Winning Yamaha GB1 Grand Piano Goes Silent

Yamaha unveils the new, ground breaking GB1 Silent Grand Piano, an innovative combination of Yamaha's exceptional acoustic piano craftsmanship and their acclaimed 'Silent Piano' technology. Both blend together in a superb new instrument that will further extend the already huge popularity of this highly affordable baby grand piano to new customers.

This instrument will appeal particularly to discerning players who require an instrument of the highest possible quality, whilst demanding a number of practical features such as compact dimensions and new technology options including the ability to practice 'silently' with headphones.

The GB1 was recently voted 'Best Acoustic Piano' at the recent prestigious UK Music Industry Awards held in London, and has become one of Yamaha's most successful models. The new GB1 Silent offers superb levels of musical performance and showcases Yamaha's unique ability to craft instruments that offer exceptional sound characteristics and a no-compromise approach to materials and construction quality whilst offering outstanding value for money.

The concept of 'silent' pianos, pioneered by Yamaha, combines a traditional acoustic piano with state-of-the-art digital sound technology allowing customers to play the instrument silently via headphones. When ‘silent mode' is activated the instrument switches over to a sampled digital sound module. A unique optical sensor system translates every nuance of key movement and dynamics – including pedal movements – ensuring that total musical control is retained at all levels. In the case of the GB1, the sound module is sampled from Yamaha's S6 handcrafted grand piano, which means that superb sound quality is maintained even via headphones.

Mark Rolfe, Director for Pianos for Yamaha Music Europe comments, "Building on the huge success of the original award winning GB1, the new GB1 Silent combines Yamaha's depth of tone, precision of touch, heritage and reliability that has set Yamaha apart from the rest. The highly practical 'silent' feature will be especially attractive to people who need to play and practice without disturbing neighbours or the rest of the household. We’re very proud of the GB1- it widens the prospect of quality grand piano ownership, at a most affordable price"